FAQs

Question

Why a domestic partnership instead of a marriage?

Answer

We have been in a loving relationship for the past 10 years and wanted to find a way to celebrate this relationship. We are creative and free souls, and felt that the basis of a domestic partnership represented our creativity and freedom more than the basis of a marriage. In the state of Maine, domestic partners are accorded a legal status similar to that of a married person. Rights include the right to inherit your partner’s property, the right to make funeral and burial arrangements for your partner, the right to be guardian or conservator of your partner’s property if they are incapacitated, the right to visit your partner in the hospital, the right for you and your children to get health insurance through your partner’s job if they offer a domestic partner insurance policy. The right to take up to ten weeks of unpaid leave to care for your partner or their children if they are seriously ill or dying, as well as the right to submit your partner’s absentee ballot. A domestic partnership is also formalized by a signed document, similar to a marriage and processed through the same bureau. The differences between a marriage and a domestic partnership include differences in tax breaks and benefits (some positive, some negative), and it is easier to end a domestic partnership (no lawyer needed). After discussing these differences together, we landed on wanting to be domestic partners instead of married. We prefer the language and foundation of a domestic partnership versus a marriage (partners vs husband + wife, "I vow to support you as an individual wherever your life will lead you" vs "until death do us part"). Our ceremony will look very similar to a wedding ceremony, we will exchange vows and plan to wear rings to represent our partnership as well.